"We resist the great temptations, but it is the little ones that eventually pull us down.” – Edith Wharton

If you’re like me, it can be hard to find opportunities to merge your “ideal” schedule with the one that life tries to hand you without your input or permission.

As you go through your day, the challenge is to make sure that your own dreams and goals are just as high up on the list as your other priorities, like family, friends and work. And it really is a challenge. But finding the balance is so worth the effort.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, it’s pretty easy for me to be kind and compassionate with myself. I can feed my body green juice, sit in meditation and treat myself with loving kindness, bless my body with yoga or a hike, and receive a nurturing massage.

But sometimes, at three o’clock in the morning, I find it practically impossible. On those dark nights of the soul, the voices of my Gremlins become deafening. The voices usually start in dreams, when I’m vulnerable and my defenses are down. And then the voices get so loud they wake me up, and the battle ensues in real life.

You're not enough...

This fall, my soul brother Chris Guillebeau and I found ourselves on parallel, simultaneous book tours, which led to lots of texting, near misses in airports, and shared shelf space at book stores where we did signings only days apart. For the few months of my book tour, I had just an inkling of what his travelbug life must look like (although it’s hard to compare book touring in Florida to rocketing off to Easter Island).

I’m sure he needs no introduction because Chris is all over the internet with his fabulous blog about unconventional strategies for life, work, and travel. And his fabulous book The Art Of Non-Conformity, which I reviewed here, is sure to skyrocket to the NY Times Bestseller’s List. And you’ll be hearing more from him here at Owning Pink, since he is joining our team of Owning Pink Bloggers!

If you can’t dream it, you can’t do it. The first step towards reaching for the stars is identifying the star you wish to reach. Otherwise, you wind up steering around, rutterless, rather than steering by starlight.